Automatic toothpaste dispenser



Oct. 5, 1954 R.' J. PERALTA r-:rAL 2,690,858

AUTOMATIC TOOTHPASTE DISPENSER Filed Nov. 8, 1949 JNVENTORS ROBERTO J.PERALTA ALFREDO MEANEY GARCIA Kanyon 'l' h/ m ATTORNEYS Patented Oct. 5,1954 UNITED 'res- -fr-Nr,

Fl C Roberto Justo Peralta, Mixcoac, Mexico. City, and.. Alfredo MeaneyGarcia, Mexico City, Mexico..

Application November 8, 1949', Serial-Nd. 126,152-

Si Claim.

'Ihe.present invention relatesfto automatic toothpaste dispensers or;appliances primarily forY home use provided with .means for expressing.toothpaste from collapsible tubes onto toothbrushes in desiredquantities and .for automati- 1 cally sealing the tube outlet betweenuse as well as providing supporting-means and dust protectors fortoothbrushes when not inuse utilizing for protective purposes the usualbathroom glass Whose internal faces are simultaneously. protected fromdust and dirt.

Principal objects and features of this invention are the provision ofstructures effective for the. purposes described which are simple inconstruction and which'may be manufactured and assembled cheaply andquickly from a minimum of working parts.

Other objects and features of the invention Will'become apparent fromthe following specification and accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section of the appliance;

Fig. 2 isa perspective view of the appliance partially broken away toillustrate internal details;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal fragmentary section on an enlarged scale of thefeeder outlet of the appliance; and

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary longitudinal section illustrating modifiedexpressing mechanism for the appliance.

Referring to the drawings, the appliance comprises as components asuitably shaped casing a of metal, plastic or other desired materialprovided with a top wall i, a rear wall 2d and side Walls 2 dening atoothbrush handle receiving compartment A. The forward edges of the sidewalls 2 are bent substantially at right angles to the side walls toprovide parallel flanges to act as slides for purposes presently to bedescribed.

The rear wall 2a is provided with conventional openings 2b forattachment to a wall.

A brush and glass holder b is positioned in the tcp i. This holder bextends upwardly of the outer surface of the top l to define an annularrim of slightly smaller diameter than the internal diameter of aconventional glass o so that in inverted position of the latter theholder b will project into the mouth of the giass to position it on saidtop l. A dividing diametrically extending partition l separates theparallel partitions t upstanding from the holder b to provide separatestalls or compartments for individual toothbrushes T whose handies areinsertable through openings in the holder b to extend .i

into :the compartmenti'Auof casing The level.;

of holder b is higher' ongonel side ofqpartition d than the.v other:toi-facilitate; selection of the desired .one of thetoothhrushesf.

Thetop wallil and side Wa1ls2 of th'ecasing a z are projected forwardlynear its top to provide a .compartment B"for.:expressing rollers 6 and'Lf These rollers' are'supported onrshafts 5' and l.

Meshing gears 8 arekeyedto the shafts and. amanipulatin'g .knob 9 isattached to one of the shafts, e. g., shaft l', externally ofthe casinga to effect rotation thereof. L Thetwo shafts t and e spring it.' One oftherollers' 'i' has a longitudinal slot. il to .receivethefflat'bottonredge of thetoothpasteV tube' P.

A feeder outlet c for dispensing thepaste from the tube P is slidablealongrthe front iface rof container a. Thissoutletfcomprises a slottedplate and is internally threaded at lila to permit the threaded tubeneck Pa to be screwed into it. The member l has a restricted outlet Mibat its lower end. An automatic stopper l5 is fulcrumed at Ida. to sidesof the tubular member It for closing oil the outlet iLlb. This stopperl5 is four-sided and open at its front for purposes to be described. Alip or flange io on stopper l5 engages a spring i5 secured to thebracket arm i3 so that the spring l acts to bias the top lEo of thestopper l5 normally into closing and sealing relationship under therestricted outlet lib. The fulcrurn support [5a of stopper i5 permitsthe latter to be swung out of closing relationship with the opening lfbagainst the resistance of the biasing spring it.

Use cmd operation In use and operation of the appliance described,toothbrushes T are inserted in the holder b and the glass g invertedover the rim of holder b to provide dust protection for the bristles ofthe brushes T and the inside of the glass g.

The usual cap of the tube P is removed and the tubes threaded neck. Pascrewed into the threaded portion ita of member I4. The at end of thetube l? is inserted into slot I I of roller l, spring it permittingsufficient separation of rollers 'S and 7i for this purpose. The user ofthe dispenser then need only remove the glass y, lift a toothbrush Tfrom the casing and insert its head into the open front of stopper I5.This arel spring-pressedtoward each other by a 3 positions the bristlesbelow the outlet I4b. The knob 9 is then rotated to turn the rollers 6and 1 through gears 8 to cause the spring-pressed rollers to squeezepaste from the tube through outlet Mb in any desired quantity, 'I'hebrush is then removed from the open front of stopper I5 and is ready foruse. The spring I6 automatically moves stopper I5 to close off theoutlet Mb upon such removal sealing the contents of tube P. As the tubescontents are used up, the outlet member c rides upwardly on slide guides3 toward rollers 6 and 1. After the tube P has been emptied, it isremoved by drawing feeder c downwardly, unwinding the tube P from roller1, and after removal of its flat end from groove II and unscrewing ofits neck Pa from threaded portion Ida it is discarded and replaced by afresh tube P.

A modified structure of the rollers is shown in Fig. 4. In thismodification, the surfaces of the rollers 6a and 'Ia are serrated andintermesh, eliminating the necessity for the gears 8 and slot I I. Thespring I'I presses against the shaft of roller 6a to bias it towardsroller la and an adjusting screw I8 serves to regulate the biasingpressure of said spring I1. All other structure remains the same andoperation of the modified form of appliance is substantially like thatof the first form described. The external shape of the casing a of theappliance may be modified as desired to conform with geometricalpatterns of the room in which it is utilized.

While specific embodiments of the invention have been shown anddisclosed, variations in structural detail within the scope of the claimare possible and are contemplated. There is no intention, therefore, ofrestriction to the exact details shown and described.

What is claimed is:

A dispensing appliance for collapsible toothpaste tubes or the likecomprising a casing dening a pair of compartments, said casing having atop provided with openings communicating with one of said compartments,partitions on said top about said openings defining stalls forindividual tooth brushes whereby the latter may be carried by said topwith their handles protectively disposed in one of said compartments ofsaid casing, said casing being open at its front and having anges on itsside walls turned inwardly along the open front of the casing to deneslide guides, a pair of expressing rollers rotatively supported withinthe other of the compartments of said casing and being protectedthereby, shafts for said rollers, spring means also within the lastnamed of the compartments for biasing the rollers toward each other,intermeshing gears also within the last named of the compartments onsaid shafts, a knob on one of said shafts externally of the casing forrotating said rollers, a feed slide slidably supported on said slideguide flanges for movement along the open front of the casing, aninternally threaded tubular receiver supported from the feed slide toreceive the threaded neck of a tube and having a restricted feed outlet,a stopper for said outlet fulcrumed from the tubular receiver, andspring means for biasing said stopper normally into closing relationshipwith said feed outlet.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,207,534 Gammeter Dec. 5, 1916 1,773,104 Johnson Aug. 19,1.930 1,873,217 Reid Aug. 23, 1932 2,037,138 McCannon Apr, 14, 19362,104,954 Stanton Jan. 11, 1938 2,184,212 Davidson Dec. 19, 19392,194,882 Bamber Mar. 26, 1940 2,357,351 Oliver Sept. 5, 1944 2,463,764Grantonic Mar. 8, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 337,129 ItalyFeb. 27, 1936

